Underaged Mini Pigs

Underaged piglets or "bottle babies"- An unnecessary and dangerous risk

If you make a post about your 1 week old piglet and expect people to just say, awwh, what a cute little pig, this isn't going to happen and shouldn't be expected to happen. It's becoming more common for "greeders" to sell "bottle babies" which, in layman terms, is an underage piglet that should still be with his/her mama. Are they cute? Absolutely they are. Is it safe? Absolutely not. If you consistently know of someone who is selling/rehoming/giving away bottle babies-SAY SOMETHING! If you see it on Facebook and you do not feel comfortable saying something yourself, tell someone else who will. If you see this on Craigslist, report or flag the ad so craigslist will remove it. This is NOT a best practice and should NOT be encouraged at all.​Let's talk about some facts. It is actually quite rare for a sow to reject a litter. So, if you see this, you need to be asking why it was rejected, what did the breeder do to try to get the sow to accept it, was there a foster sow available. Even more importantly.... if the sow rejected it, what was the their backup plan? Raising the babies is still the responsibility of the breeder. That is what they signed up for. You, the buyer, are shelling out hard earned cash for what?.. For the breeder to do ZERO work?...You are buying a pet pig, this breeder has a certain responsibility to deliver a sound, healthy piglet to you. This piglet should be weaned from its' mother and be eating solid foods. You should NOT ever accept a piglet that is still drinking milk.

LET THEM GROW BEFORE THEY GO!!!!

This isn't healthy for many many reasons, but let's state the obvious. A mothers babies are ripped out from under her, imagine how she feels. She is probably panicked and heartbroken at the same time. Now imagine how that baby feels no longer having the comfort and support of his/her mother and siblings. Bringing an 8 week old piglet home is terrifying enough, I couldn't imagine bringing home an underage piglet knowing the risks of death are so much greater than any benefit someone may have told you. Bottle feeding a piglet can literally be deadly. The risk of aspiration alone can make that kind of situation go from bad to life threatening in one feeding. No reputable person, whether that be a breeder or rescue, will allow a baby thats under 6-8 weeks to leave the mother unless there are unusual circumstances such as the sow passing away during or shortly after birth, or orphaned babies found with no mother. BUT, that isn't very common and people will play on others sympathies and tell some outlandish story about where the babies came from, etc. to entice you to take a bottle baby. Please don't support the kind of person who lacks compassion for both the sow and piglet who feels like appropriate to take babies from their mother like that.

A baby who hasn't had the opportunity to nurse also isn't given the antibodies needed to protect the piglet from disease/illness. A baby who isn't allowed the appropriate time with mama and siblings also doesn't have the opportunity to learn respect and manners. Siblings are a herd as well and will fight amongst each other to establish who will have the best milk producing teat. They'll bicker back and forth during play time and the "top hog" will push the others around only hours after being born. A baby who is taken away from the sow too early often develop behavioral issues including aggression and lack of respect due primarily to lack of training on how to be a pig from his/her mother and siblings.

I would have to say 9/10 times, whomever is the caregiver of these bottle babies is posting about one problem or another and asking for help. Piglet won't eat, piglet has diarrhea, piglet is coughing or choking all the time. Don't set yourself up for failure and decide that you're going to bottle feed a piglet because someone told you it's better for bonding, you can bond with a pig at 8 weeks old just the same. You can bond with a pig at 3 years old, age has nothing to do with it. It's a pathetic excuse for someone to sell a piglet that young. Piglets nurse mama pig every hour or couple of hours until they're around 5 weeks old and can then be introduced to solid foods. They can't regulate their body temperature when they are newborns and have to be kept warm. They nudge on their mothers belly not only to stimulate the milk, but this behavior is also comforting to them. Bottle fed babies are also more susceptible to respiratory infections, scours and pneumonia in general, as well as e-coli. Of all the diseases in the sucking piglet, diarrhea is the most common and probably the most important in terms of unnecessary death. In some outbreaks, it is responsible for high morbidity and mortality.

Why do people glamorize these tiny pigs? Because they can, that's why. The reason they sell them early is because a tiny little piglet is a better marketing tool than a slightly bigger 8 week old piglet to the heartless people who promote this. Those with experience know how different a piglet can look from the day of birth until the 8 weeks old. In some pigs, there is a huge difference in body shape and size and in others, not so much. Some "greeders" will go as far to tell someone a one week old piglet IS 8 weeks old to showcase their small stature. You need to be the one to ask questions or ask for proof of birth. Ig you see this person posted about babies being born a week ago and nothing from 8 weeks ago and the piglet you're interested in looks like the piglets in the one week old litter, odds are....they are being quite deceitful or flat out lying and you are, in fact, buying a one week old piglet that will require a lot of time and effort just to keep this precious soul alive.

If you have had a "bottle baby", share your experience with us. Firsthand information goes a great deal further than observation. I see posts everyday from people asking for help with these underaged piglets, some have no idea the baby is only a few weeks old and told its the "runt" or several months old. Those with experience can look at a picture and estimate a more realistic age. Some are well aware the piglet they have received wasn't weaned. I don't understand why anyone would even want that kind of responsibility. You can click here to learn more about estimating the age of a pig, it is not an exact science, so you may have to do some leg work and background work to be sure the person you are considering getting a pig from is honest about the age.

Remember, if you make the decision to get a tiny, frail bottle fed piglet, you are assuming responsibility for the life of that pig. Know the risks associated with getting a piglet at such a young age, empower yourself with education and facts. Don't be fooled into believing your pig will be better behaved or love you more because you fed him/her from a bottle, as a matter of fact, be prepared for the opposite. You will likely have issues you're not prepared to handle as your pig gets older. Just stop and think about your decision and think about the piglet and mama pig. Don't let selfishness get in the way. The decision you make can literally be the difference between life and death of that piglet.

Susan Robertson says:"Wrena was two weeks old when I got her and I was her third home! I am thankful she was eating out of a dish and I had a lot of good help from some very experienced pig people here on the pages. Wrena is now a year old and we are still working on some behavioral issues because she was taken away for her mom at just days old. I certainly would never encourage taking on the responsibility of an underage piglet but I am glad they I ended up with Wrena rather than someone that did not have the connections on these pages as I do and because of her size, I was scared someone would snatch her up for a breeder. I am one of the lucky ones....."

​Written by: Brittany Sawyer, Nicole Cox, Dawn Camp and Shayla Hudson

Underaged Piglet Care

How to care for an underaged or orphaned piglet

Pan feeding is recommended

Don't worry, they'll catch on....

​These piglets were dropped off at PIGS animal sanctuary and a shallow dish was used to feed these 3-4 days old orphaned piglets.Photo credit for above pictures: PIGS animal sanctuary

To be honest, my experience in this area is zero. I have no first hand experience with orphaned piglets, but I do have friends who have dealt with this type of thing. I have copied the Shepherd's Green section regarding the care of orphaned piglets for your quick reference. The direct link is at the end of this section listed as a source.

Care for orphaned or very young pigs:First, you should know it is very difficult to save an orphaned or new born piglet. They NEED their mother’s milk for the nutrients and colostrum and it is very difficult to replicate those things, so consequently, some pigs just don’t survive. (Regarding Colostrum-Unlike human babies and puppies, no antibodies are transferred through the placenta from the sow to her piglets before birth.) Normally, piglets are born in a vulnerable state without any humoral or mucosal associated antibodies and no acquired cell-mediated immunity. Fortunately, towards the end of gestation when the sow's mammary glands develop, the first secretion they produce, colostrum, is rich in antibodies representing the whole spectrum of the sow's own circulating antibodies. A first instinct of the newborn piglet is to find and suck a teat. Normally, a sow has voluntary control over milk let down, but during farrowing this control is weak. The piglets nuzzle the teat and surrounding gland and then suck the teat. This results in a rapid let-down of colostrum. In the first twelve to twenty four hours of life the piglet's intestines are able to absorb whole antibodies before the enzymes in the intestines digest them. Consequently, within a short period after a good first suck, the piglet's blood contains the full spectrum of its dam's antibodies often at about the same level as that of the sow. (www.pigsite.com)

Newborns:The most important thing to remember is that these babies MUST be kept very warm. The ideal temperature for them is 90 degrees. You can either use a heating pad or a heat lamp. Make sure the lamp is very secure and won’t fall down. Newborns cannot produce their own heat or regulate their body temp, so you have to provide a constant warm temperature for them. Baby pigs can die quickly from hypothermia, so it is vital that they are kept warm 24/7. While their ability to generate their body heat begins working, at about 3 weeks, I recommend you still provide a heating pad with room for them to move off it if it gets too hot.

Feeding:Babies will not eat if they are too cold. Babies need temps in the mid 90s to be comfortable. We do not recommend bottle feeding because it is very easy for a pig to aspirate (get the milk in their lungs) and die. Pneumonia is very easy for a piglet to get especially if fluid goes into their lungs. There is a lot better options to do such as sponge feeding from a makeup sponge and the best option is pan feeding. A small cat dish is best used for this.

Sometimes an eyedropper has to be used, but this should be done carefully to keep the milk from going into the lungs. Feed very slowly if you must use a dropper. DO NOT BOTTLE FEED!!!!!!

The first milk, colostrum, is rich in disease-preventing immunogloblins; the very first colostrum is the richest and best, because the quality of colostrum declines over time. Getting a good dose of colostrum, especially from the piglet’s dam, is probably the single most important factor related to a piglet’s survival and long-term health. Strong, early-born piglets get to the udder hours before their later-born litter mates and go from teat to teat taking the best colostrum. Thus, disadvantaged piglets often need assistance to obtain enough colostrum. Below are some methods to ensure piglets obtain an adequate dose of colostrum.

Prevent chilling so piglets stay warm and active.

Split suckle. This involves removing part of the litter for one to two hour periods the first 12 hours after farrowing. For best results, remove the largest, strongest piglets for a one to two hour period during the morning and again in the afternoon, leaving the small piglets on the sow to nurse. Give the sow 20-30 U.S.P. units of oxytocin (1 to 1.5ml) each time the largest piglets are removed. Be sure to hold the large piglets in a box fitted with supplemental heat to prevent chilling. Use this technique to ensure high colostrum intake before crossfostering.

Collect colostrum from the sow or obtain cow colostrum and give it to piglets via a stomach tube or a syringe. To milk a sow, remover all her piglets for one hour. Then give her 20-30 U.S.P. units or 1 to 1.5ml of oxytocin, wait one or two minutes, then strip her teats (front teats are better be cause they produce more milk) to obtain colostrum. Cow colostrum also can be used and may more easily obtained. Either type of colostrum can be frozen in ice cube trays for future use. How ever, do not thaw the cubes in a microwave oven, because rapid thawing reduces the immunological value of the colostrum. Stomach tubes can be made from model airplane fuel tubing or by using a urinary catheter (size 14 French) available from medical supply stores. Attach the tube to a syringe and lubricate the tube with vegetable oil or KY jelly before inserting it 6-7 inches into the piglet’s stomach. Give the piglet 10-15ml of colostrum once or twice during the first 24 hours of life.

Four points must be emphasized. (1st point) Without maternal antibodies the piglet is highly susceptible to infection. It is essential for the piglet's survival that it drinks colostrum soon after birth before pathogenic micro-organisms have had time to multiply and invade. (2nd point). It is also essential that it ingest enough colostrum to provide adequate protection until it has actively produced its own humoral antibodies. (3rd point). The ability of the piglet's intestine to absorb colostral antibody is short-lived, but is shortened still further when the piglet has drunk. Thus, (4th point). if a piglet that has had no colostrum, is to be cross-fostered onto another sow, or given substitute colostrum orally, it should be done in the first few hours of life and no other nutrients should be given in advance.

The fostering sow must also still have colostrum available. Being passively acquired the amount of antibody in the blood stream is finite and can be exhausted by exposure to excessive antigen. Put another way, there is a maximum amount of colostral antibody that a pig can absorb into its blood stream. Overwhelming doses of bacteria will use it all up. The passively acquired colostral antibodies in the blood gradually waste away to about half the initial level by about ten to fourteen days, although they may persist at a reasonably protective level against most pathogenic antigens for six to twelve weeks. The time taken to decline to ineffective levels varies depending upon the amount of colostral antibody taken in by the piglet and on the type of infection or toxin against which the antibody acts. In some exceptional cases (e.g. against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, parvovirus and Leptospira bratislava), they may persist much longer, sometimes up to four and a half months. Milk Mucosally-associated antibodies are present as IgA and secretory IgA in colostrum but at low levels relative to the other types of antibody (IgG and IgM). However, the normal milk which follows colostrum contains sufficient secretory IgA to get absorbed in the surface mucus and protect the piglets intestines provided the piglet sucks the sow every one to two hours. This is sometimes called lactogenic immunity.

You can use a flat dish (a coffee saucer, ceramic ash tray or coaster) that won’t move all over when they are trying to eat. Even a muffin pan can be used as a shallow feeding dish. Usually you will need to hold the pig in one hand and support the dish in the other hand. Dip their nose into the dish and they will eventually figure out how to lick the milk. You may have to dip your finger in the milk and put it in their mouth so they understand there is food in the dish. In the beginning they will fight, fuss & squirm, but after a few tries of biting the milk, they catch on. You can also make a little rag teat.. simply twist the end of a wash cloth to make a small end and dip it into the milk solution and then into the piglet’s mouth. Remember pigs in general don’t like to be restrained and held, so be sure to make sure the piglet feels safe and secure. Tuck the legs In under them, if possible, to add a sense of security.

What to feed:For a newborn, you can goat milk (raw is preferred but canned is ok) with baby rice cereal. Slightly warm the mixture each time you feed – if you use a microwave – make sure there are no hot spots in the mixture. Because newborns (birth to one week) can only eat so much at a time (approx 2 oz), they must be fed every two hours around the clock. At a week old, feeding moves to every 3 or 4 hours during the day, but no longer feeding through as long as the last feeding at night is around 12am, and the first feeding in the morning is around 7am.

What is my pig doesn't like the pellets or has constipation issues? Unimilk is a nice product. At 4 weeks old, he should be starting on some solid foods...he is too old for a milk only diet. Start by mixing baby rice cereal and 1 tsp of canned pumpkin into the food....and start the piglet on dish feeding because it will be difficult for him to take the bottle as the food gets thicker. (We recommend pan feeding versus bottle feeding period) Piglets start watching their moms and eating what they eat at about 10 days old, in addition to nursing....they learn that it is food by experimenting on what mom eats. So, they are on a mixed milk, solid diet pretty early. Have a small bowl of wet pellets and a small amount of dry pellets available too. Offer small bits of what you are eating to the piglet. As you start adding solids to the diet, if your pig is having difficulty pottying, the constipation should lessen. (Advice for another pig parent in a pig group from a DVM)

Know when to discard unused products, pay close attention to expiration times/dates.If you decide to use sow replacer, pay close attention to the time the directions that state how long milk is good once it has been opened since old formula can cause problems. Mark cans of formula with a time and date and read instructions on these cans to see if they must be refrigerated or discarded after a period of time. Remember, feeding your piglet spoiled milk can cause major issues and since your piglet is already at a disadvantage, this can lead to deadly consequences.

Consistency is key, changes in diets can affect a piglets sensitive GI tract.Once you have chosen what you will feed the pig, don’t change it since change formulas can cause diarrhea, which can lead to death for a piglet very quickly.

When to start adding solid foods.You can start adding crushed Mazuri Youth pellets at about three days, by making it very liquid at first, and then gradually increasing the amount of feed as the pig ages. At about two weeks you are basically feeding them a paste. You can provide a small amount of water during the day as well. (Fresh water should always be available)

You can begin feeding just softened (in goat’s milk) Mazuri Youth at about 4-5 weeks. Gradually reduce the liquid until they are eating just the hard pellets, usually about 7 weeks. The rule of thumb at 8 weeks is 1/2 cup of pellets per 15 lb of piglet, broken into at least two or three meals. Offer veggies in small pieces as treats. Keep plenty of water in front of them. Babies should gain about 1 lb a week as a general rule of thumb for the first year. Obviously this trumps any existence of 30 pound fully grown healthy pigs since a year is 52 weeks and typically growing at a rate of a pound a week, that would be around 52 pounds at one year old. Some pigs will not meet this landmark for a little longer and some pigs will have growth spurts and quickly pack on the pounds.

Newborn pig poop (gross, we know)Newborn piglets will have a dark stool that changes to more yellow color at about three days. If you see or feel just a clear liquid stool, your pig has diarrhea and you need to get the pig to a vet, since this will kill a baby pig very quickly if not treated because they dehydrate quickly and they don’t need more food/liquids, they must have an antibiotic.

Is iron or B-12 injections necessary?Do NOT give a baby pig a B-12 or Iron shot. Not only is this unnecessary, but can be deadly. If the baby pigs are outside, they don’t need iron supplements, since they get what they need from the dirt. If you are keeping the baby inside, you can put down a tray or cookie sheet of clean dirt (dirt that has not had pigs on it) for him to walk through and get his own iron from it.

When to contact a vet IMMEDIATELY.If he goes more than 24 hours without peeing, eating or drinking, something is seriously wrong and he needs to see a vet immediately. If he goes more than 2 days without going pee/poop, he needs to see a vet immediately.

The importance of pigs staying with their mothers

Piglets raised by their mother, and given the opportunity to learn lessons from their siblings are often better behaved and more respectful than piglets who have been raised as an orphan piglet. There are underaged piglet support groups on social media (click here to join the group) where you can get personal 1:1 assistance with people who have dealt with this ever growing problem in the pig community.

It isn't only because of behavioral issues that it's suggested that a pig, especially a pig that will be a family's pet, stay with mama for a period of time. It is actually difficult to care for a pig who is scared and sad or a piglet who doesn't want to drink the milk replacer that you purchased. Bottle feeding has proven to be dangerous, but so is starvation from a pig who won't drink from a pan. If you are having a difficult time managing the care for an underaged piglet, send us an email and we will try our very best to help you or connect you with someone who can. (minipiginfo@gmail.com)

Piglet Diarrhea

Diarrhea in piglets: How this can turn into a life threatening situation in the blink of an eye

Of all the diseases in the sucking piglet, diarrhea is the most common and probably the most important. In some outbreaks it is responsible for high morbidity and mortality. In a well run herd there should be less than 3% of litters at any one time requiring treatment and piglet mortality from diarrhea should be less than 0.5%. In severe outbreaks levels of mortality can rise to 7% or more and in individual untreated litters up to 100% (in TGE it may reach 100% overall)

At birth the intestinal tract is micro-biologically sterile and it has little immunity to disease producing organisms. Organisms begin to colonize the tract quickly after birth, among them potentially pathogenic strains of E. coli and Clostridium perfringens. Immunity is initially provided by the high levels of antibodies in colostrum (IgG, IgM, IgA). After the colostral antibodies have been absorbed into the blood stream, the immunity is maintained by the antibody (IgA) which is present in milk. IgA is absorbed into the mucous lining of the intestines. It is essential that the newborn piglet drinks sufficient colostrum soon after birth to prevent potentially pathogenic organisms multiplying against the intestinal wall and causing diarrhea. It is also essential that the piglet continues to drink milk regularly after the colostrum has gone so that its intestines continue to be lined by protective antibodies.

The antibodies acquired passively from the colostrum and milk are definite and can be overwhelmed by large doses of bacteria present in the environment. The higher the number of organisms taken in, the greater the risk of disease. Environmental stress such as chilling also plays a role because it lowers the piglets’ resistance. There is a delicate balance between the antibody level on the one hand and the weight of infection and stress on the other.​Other agents such as adenoviruses, astroviruses, bredaviruses, calciviruses, toroviruses, picoburnaviruses and chlamydia, have been identified in diarrheic faces but their significance is mostly unknown. Adenoviruses may be involved in pneumonia and are thought sometimes to worsen other pneumonias such as enzootic pneumonia. Bredaviruses have been associated with loss of appetite, weakness, tremors and death in weaners; but it is extremely rare. Chlamydia causes conjunctivitis, coughing and arthritis (and in sows-have been associated with infertility and stillbirths). None of these agents cause common diseases of any importance in pigs and are best ignored by the pig farmer.

Clinical signsScour in the piglet can occur at any age during sucking but there are often two peak periods, before 5 days and between 7 and 14 days.

Acute diseaseThe only sign may be a perfectly good pig found dead. Post-mortem examinations shows severe acute enteritis, so sudden that there may be no evidence of scour externally. Clinically affected piglets huddle together shivering or lie in a corner. The skin around the rectum and tail will be wet. Look around the pen for evidence of a watery to salad cream consistency scour. In many cases there is a distinctive smell. As the diarrhea progresses the piglet becomes dehydrated, with sunken eyes and a thick leathery skin. The scour often sticks to the skin of other piglets giving them an orange to white color. Prior to death piglets may be found on their sides paddling and frothing at the mouth.

Sub acute diseaseThe symptoms are similar but the effects on the piglet are less dramatic, more prolonged and mortality tends to be lower. This type of scour is often seen between 7 to 14 days of age manifest by a watery to thin salad dressing consistency type diarrhea, often white to yellow in color.

DiagnosisThe overall picture must be considered when making a diagnosis. Sudden outbreaks of scour involving large numbers of litters with acute diarrhea and high mortality suggest TGE, epidemic diarrhea or PRRS. It always helps in differentiating these infections to know whether the herd had previously been exposed to any of these diseases or not. If exposure is for the first time the outbreak is likely to be explosive.

Rotavirus diarrhea appears in waves in individual litters or groups of litters and normally in the second half of lactation. Coccidiosis has an incubation period of 6 days and is usually involved in diarrhea complexes from 7 to 14 days of age. At less than 5 days of age the most common cause is E. coli with acute diarrhea particularly in gilts' litters because they pass on poorer levels of immunity. Clostridia infections also occur at this age.

Diagnosis is based on the clinical examinations, the response to treatment (viral diseases do not respond to treatment) and laboratory examination of the scour. Submit a rectal swab or a live pig to the laboratory for cultural examinations and antibiotic sensitivity tests.

Treatment (ONLY if recommended by your vet)

Some antibiotics available. Most of these are active against E. coli and clostridia but not the virus infections.

In severe outbreaks of E. coli disease the sows feed can be top dressed with the appropriate antibiotic daily, from entry into the farrowing house and for up to 14 days post-farrowing. This can be effective in reducing bacterial output in the sows feces.

Observe litters for the presence of diarrhea both night and morning.

Study the history of the disease on your farm. Is it sporadic, in one piglet in a litter, or total litters?

In the light of the history either treat the individual pig or on the first signs of disease treat the whole litter.

If a litter is badly scoured dose night and morning for a minimum of two days.

Assess the response to treatment. If there is no change within 12 hours then change to another medicine as advised by your veterinarian.

Always treat piglets less than 7 days of age by mouth.

For older pigs where the disease is less acute injections are equally effective and easier to administer.

Support

All information was collected and/or written by the creators of the website unless otherwise noted. If you have any questions or would like to reach out to us, please email us at minipiginfo@gmail.com or via our Facebook page by clicking here. Feel free to share the links to the website, that is why it was created. This website does NOT take the place of your veterinarian's advice. Please seek emergency veterinarian care if your pig is sick or injured!!